Hi all
Had my rear brakes and discs replace on Saturday, drove away and thought the car felt a bit underpowered. I thought it might have been because I had the kids and their car seats in there (which isn't normal).
This morning I drove my empty (apart from me) car and there is definitely something wrong. I have to accelerate harder and the car is lacking power.
I thought the brakes might be stuck on but they weren't glowing red hot when I parked, they were hot but I had just been coming up the motorway.
I just went out to the car park and tested the hand brake and noticed that when the car is rolling forward I do need to pull the lever quite a long way before it stops (suggesting it might be half on-ish already).
Is there anything I can check to confirm if the handbrake is stuck on or if it's the pads rubbing?
Many Thanks!
Adam
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just drove home and checked the brakes. The rear discs were pretty hot but again I have just driven 50 miles down the motorway.
Does anyone know if the rear brakes should be hot after normal driving? When I brake it feels like the front brakes stop the car, is this the case or do the rear ones come on in normal use as well?
I guess my question is, Should my rear brakes been stone cold after normal driving?
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Most of a cars braking is done on the front wheels.However after normal driving all the brakes will be hot,the rears will definitely not be cold.The handbrake mechanism on your car works via internal brake shoe system that applies brake force to the inside of the rear disc hub.So you can't actually see its operation by looking through the wheel.It is possible that when the rear discs were replaced that the handbrake mechanism was not correctly re-set or adjusted.hth
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I'd suggest the rear brakes should be no hotter than the fronts after a run. They'll generate heat when they're used.
Why not take it back and ask them to check it?
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Obviously the brakes get hot when you apply them (kinetic energy of the vehicle is converted into heat by the brakes). If you drive 50 miles on the motorway and don't touch the brakes then they will be stone cold. If you drive three miles and brake half a dozen times very hard then they will get hot.
Front brakes do most of the work (anything from 60-80% typically) and so are bigger and get hotter, usually.
To check if your brakes are dragging I would suggest jacking each rear wheel in turn (on firm level ground) and with the h/brake off try spinning the rear wheel. Your car is RWD so there would be some resistance, but there should be no brake drag/sticking.
On your car I would expect dragging brakes, to the extent that you feel a lack of performance, to produce a lot of heat and dust at the rear after a long run, the wheels themselves would be warm to the touch and there would be a 'burning smell' aruond the back wheels.
Edited by WorkshopTech on 14/12/2009 at 21:30
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Hi
Thanks for the replies!
I had to take it back to the garage and ask them to check it out. Thankfully they agreed there was a problem, got it up on the ramp and discovered that the handbrake was stuck on on one side! Caused so much damage due to the heat that I need new new shoes.
They are fitting them now free of charge out of good will. Though it must be their fault for not adjusting the handbrake correctly in the first place and leaving it rubbing!
It seems every time I go to a garage, BMW dealer or independant I have problems!!
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Strange! Its an easy job and difficult to get wrong. Wouldn't use that place again.
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